Trooper Shane Kearney undergoing further surgery after Lebanon attack

Trooper Shane Kearney, who was severely injured in an attack on Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon last year, is undergoing further surgery today.

The 22-year-year suffered head injuries on the night of December 14th, 2022 in the same incident in which Private Seán Rooney was killed by gunmen in the village of Al-Aqbiyeh in South Lebanon.

The Defence Forces said Tpr Kearney is returning to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on Wednesday for cranioplasty surgery to repair skull fractures. The procedure “should hopefully be the final operation that he requires,” it said.

In a statement, the Defence Forces said the soldier has been recovering at home in Co Cork for two months and has been making steady progress.

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“All Shane’s colleagues in the Defence Forces are thinking of him at this time and are wishing him a speedy recovery.”

Pte Rooney (24), from Dundalk, Co Louth, died and Tpr Kearney (22), from Killeagh, Co Cork, was critically injured after shots were fired at their vehicle as they travelled from the Irish base of operations in the south to Beirut Airport.

The two other Irish soldiers on board suffered minor injuries. It was the first fatal attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon since 2015.

The vehicle was undertaking an administrative run to Beirut airport when it became separated from a second UN vehicle and took a non-standard route off the main highway between Beirut and South Lebanon.

Parallel investigations into the attack are being conducted by the Defence Forces with the support of An Garda Síochána and by the Lebanese authorities.

On January 5th, a military court in Beirut issued charges against one individual detained in late December who has been described by a local military source as “the main suspect”. The court also issued charges against six other suspects not in custody for their involvement in the attack on the Irish peacekeepers in South Lebanon.

The United Nations has also completed a fact-finding exercise in relation to the attack.